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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 116 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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468
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  3. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  4. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  12. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  13. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  14. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  15. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  19. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  20. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  21. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. rule — to rule out
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. leaves — lets stay
  5. land — to come down
  6. game — wild animals
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. leaves — to go away
  9. land — ground
  10. wind — moving air
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. mouse — for a computer
  13. season — in sport
  14. leaves — of a tree
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. wind — moving air
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. perch — the fish
  19. season — of the year
  20. rule — government
  21. rule — a law
  22. game — a match
  23. land — a country
  24. perch — for a bird

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com